A Different Adventure (A LOTR Novel)
by One-In-The-Chamber
Summary: Rognus, a half human half dwarf, has lived inside the safe walls of Erebor all of his life. But when an opportunity to escape his life of isolationism comes along, his world will change forever, will Rognus be able to face what lies ahead? Or will he return to Erebor afraid? (4th age Middle Earth, OC, Map Accurate, reviews and favorites are very much appreciated.)
1. Chapter 1: Different

**A Different Adventure**

**Chapter 1: Different**

Rognus walked around the halls of Erebor, after Thorin Oakensheild was killed while taking back Erebor many dwarves decided it was time to return to the mountain once and for all. Gimli, our new king, decided to expand his new kingdom to old and forgotten lands, Erebor was an obvious first choice. Rognus got so lost in thought; he almost fell on a dwarf.

"WATCH YOUR FEET ROGNUS!" Yelled the dwarf.

"Sorry!" He yelled back.

Rognus was, different from the other dwarves, see, he was a mix of human and dwarf, the height and very minimal magic abilities of a human, but with the blacksmithing abilities of a dwarf. He looked up to the sound of dwarves continuously mining out Erebor for its valuable riches. He shook his head as soot fell upon him, his black hair and ponytail shaking in the wind, he was fine with his look, it made him look like a warrior, which he wanted to be. He ran back to his blacksmithing station, he was so excited. He had recently gotten approval from Gimli himself to build his own weapon. A weapon to a dwarf was more than an item; it was apart of a dwarf, an extension of the body. Every dwarf should have a weapon, and since Rognus had finally reached the human age of twenty-five, he was allowed to craft his own weapon.

Rognus had crafted many weapons in his day, from simple arrows, to even weapons for the king's armory. He was deciding what he should make, every dwarf made their own weapon unless they lacked blacksmithing skills, and that was rare now a days especially, since dwarves had returned to their old ways of blacksmithing, which was rivaled only by the elves.

"Ello' laddy" said a familiar voice.

Rognus turned to look, it was Lesur, he was the cast master of this blacksmith store, he provided casts of weapons so I could mold the weapons.

"I heard the news," Said Lesur, walking over to his casts "What will it be? An iron bow? A sword, an ax, those are the most popular you know."

"Won't those be a little short for me?" Rognus said with a smile, they loved to joke about his height.

"Ha ha! Nothing I can't change, anyway, anything I can help you with or have you already got something in mind?" He said, elbow against his workbench.

"Actually," Rognus said, pulling out one of his many weapons designs, "I think I have an idea, but it would be a custom job," He handed the plans to Lesur, "How much will I owe you?" Rognus said, pulling out his bag to get some gold out.

"Consider this," Lesur said, laying the plans on his workbench, "A favor, but you'll owe me one." He said with a smile.

"Thanks a lot Lesur, I will definitely repay you when the time comes." Rognus said.

Rognus ran over to his station with glee, While Lesur began modifying the spear cast, Rognus began to work on his machine, the big furnace (Way taller than him) had begun smelting the iron required for his weapon. His weapon was going to be beautiful, he tried to match the scheme with his armor, which he crafted at the age of twenty, due to his dwarf heritage his height ended up being around six foot and he stopped growing from there on, most humans were taller and around the six, two range.

"I'm done Rognus!" Yelled Lesur.

"Alright I'm coming!" Rognus yelled lowering the bridge area from the furnace to his blacksmith shop, this allowed for the iron to easily flow into the workshop.

He walked in and the first thing he did was look at the cast, it was beautiful, the spear head was very well done and the butt of the weapon was amazing, recently he had sold some custom weapons to elves in exchange for a lot of leather for both his armor and this weapon. He pulled on the lever and the molten iron came tumbling down in a big wave and into the mold. It was glorious, very well done. As the cast began to fill I put on the top of the cast so it could take shape. In the mean time, Rognus decided to go to his workbench and pull out the iron rod and leather he had stored for this moment. He quickly but expertly wrapped the leather around the rod. Now the hard part was to make sure the leather would stay attached to the weapon, he had an idea for that.

As if on que the bell ringed, which signified the iron had solidified in the cast. He tore off the top cover of the cast and looked at what was created. It was exactly to specifications, now was the fun part. It was a trick Lesur and Rognus had thought of, they called it, fusing.

He said to himself, "Naur" the elvish word for a fire.

And within an instant, the tip of his finger was in flames, it was the only trick he could do from his human side. He burnt the inside of the mold on the butt and the spearhead; small parts of the iron began to turn back into molten iron. Then, before the molten iron could return to tough solid iron he put the butt and spearhead of the casted items on their respective ends over the leather. Instantly, the iron solidified over the ends of the leather, fusing the iron and leather, stuck together forever. Only the flames of a dwarf furnace or dragon fire could separate the bond, Rognus figured that if that ever happened, the wielder would already be dead.

Rognus tested the durability, it held together well, as dwarven iron should, he slammed it hard against the stone-testing dummy, the dummy was chipped and the weapon was relatively un-harmed. He looked down at his hand; it was because of his fusing abilities that the spear did not separate and fly in two different directions. He had heard rumors of wizards like Gandalf the white who excelled in magic, he swore to himself, if he ever met such a wizard, he would ask him to teach him the spell of durability, which makes any weapon virtually unbreakable. It had been a trick he had tried all his life since he started in the blacksmithing scene, the only success he ever had was making his under garments very rough, which was very painful.

"Wow," Said Lesur, walking through the doorway, "That's a mighty fine weapon you have made for yourself, better take good care of it, if you break it, I'll charge you double normal price to fix it." He said, hands crossed in front of him.

"Please Lesur," Rognus said enthusiastically "When has my fusing technique ever failed?"

"Trust me," Lesur said, "There are some magic's out there that can break your spear like a twig, just keep that in mind." He said, giving him a good speech about it.

"Don't worry," Rognus said, "This spear will break only when I break."

"Alright, alright," Lesur said, "Enough heroic talk, we have a job to get back to."

Rognus agreed, wrapping the spear in a black cloth until he could make a proper sheathe for it, he didn't know why, but he feels as if he didn't just make a weapon, he made his destiny.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"That'll be 20 pieces please," Rognus said to the dwarf, he broke is pickaxe and needed it fixed so he could return to the mine.

"How about, 15 pieces, and two chunks of iron for your furnace?" The dwarf said, attempting to barter with Rognus.

"One moment please," Rognus said, "LESUR! BARTER TIME!" He yelled, Lesur was always the one he went to if some tried to barter with him.

Lesur walked up, "What's he offering?"

"15 pieces," Said Rognus, "And two chunks of iron to put in the furnace."

Lesur stroked his chin, "Alright Rognus, I'll speak with the man, you go ahead and help the other costumers out."

Rognus walked to the other side of the store, he could still hear Lesur bargaining with the dwarf, Rognus always wondered how Lesur did it, when it came to bartering, Lesur could take everything you own and still make it look like a fair trade. He shook his head as he moved to help the other costumers, when he looked up he noticed it was the captain of the guard. Rognus immediately bowed, it was the proper thing to do, the guards had to earn their position by extreme combat.

"At Ease," Said the guardsman.

Rognus stood up straight again, "Anything I can help you with sire?"

"Yes actually you can," Said the guard, handing Rognus some pieces of parchment. "King Gimli is looking for brave men to explore middle earth, we wanted to use your blacksmithing shop as a center for advertisement."

Rognus went through the pieces of parchment, it contained sign up location, time, what to pack, and of course, warnings of dangerous adventuring, "I don't see why not, is there any certain place that you would like them?" Said Rognus, trying to be polite.

"No not really," Said the guard, "Just put them wherever many men are likely to see it."

"Alright, have a great day sire," Rognus said.

"You as well" said the dwarf, walking off to advertise the adventure on many more walls.

"What've you got there?" Said Lesur, walking in on me.

"Some advertisement for the king, what did you get out of the dwarf?" Rognus said, curious to hear the details.

"Oh, I got 19 pieces and one chunk of iron," He said with a grin, knowing that he stretched the man to his limits.

"Ha, well, what a wonderful day for profits, anyway, would you like to see the pieces of parchment before I hang them up on the front of the store?" Rognus said, pulling out one of the pieces of parchment.

"Aye," said Lesur, taking one of the pieces.

"Probably a good move for the king, gets us business because people need weapons, and gets the king volunteers." Rognus said, pulling out a hammer and some nails.

"Rognus," Lesur said, "You should sign up for this! There is a huge reward for working this job and its only temporary so you can come back whenever you feel like it! Besides you always wanted to be a warrior, here's your chance!"

Rognus stroked his chin, "Yeah but I don't know, I'm not properly equipped for this kind of thing, I don't even have a sheathe yet, or even a dagger."

"Tell you what," Said Lesur, "I'll help you get situated, but you have to send a bit of that reward back to me, that is a lot of loot."

Rognus began considering his ups and downs, the down side was that he may never return, and believe it or not, after his parents died, the blacksmith store became his home and his life, he felt obligated to protect it. The upside would be that he would get to do what he always wanted to do, explore, and be free.

"If I were to go," Said Rognus, "What other apprentice would help you run the store? I mean, if its just you, business would slow and eventually come to a halt!"

"Laddy," Lesur said, "There are thousands of dwarf families looking to enroll their children in the art of blacksmithing, I'll have a great selection, the only part I'm going to miss is that fusing technique of yours, it's a real saver on some days."

Rognus continued to think, "Okay, I'll do it, on one condition, if I don't come back, you have to carve my name into my old workbench for me."

"Deal," said Lesur, "Now lets get packing."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They had been working almost the entire day; they even closed the shop that day. Rognus was packing his bag with small but very useful stuff, like small fruits and food, a simple blanket, and a few extra things, like a sowing kit and a hammer in case he had to create or repair things. He was all situated, all ready to go.

"Well, this is it," Rognus said, "Any last words Lesur?"

"Yeah," Said Lesur, "You better send me some of that gold or else I'll kick your butt!"

Rognus got on one knee and hugged Lesur, "Don't worry, I'll send you some as soon as I get it."

"OH!" Said Lesur "I almost forgot, tools for weapons and defense!"

Lesur reached into his leather sack of goodies.

"FIRST" He yelled, "A strap for your newly crafted spear."

Rognus pulled it out, the leather strap fit him perfectly and the holster fit snug on his back so he could easily carry the spear.

"Next," Lesur said, "We have a well made dwarven dagger."

Rognus pulled out the dagger, it was beautiful, a rounded hilt and black leather grip, the blade was sharpened to perfection; it could cut stone or ore.

"Is that all?" Rognus said, "This is incredible, you never cease to amaze me Lesur."

"Yeah well that's not all," Said Lesur, "I won't charge you for this one since you made it, but I modified your iron armor, I cut it down so that it has great defense and soft leather padding on the inside, that way if you get hit by a brute force, it will dampen the blow."

Rognus pulled out the armor, it was wonderful. It gleamed in the light, he immediately put it on, the armor was gauntlets, boots, chest plate, and of course a back plate, all of it was light, but very secure and snug so there was no discomfort.

"Lesur," Rognus said, "How can I ever repay you?"

"Well that's simple," Lesur said, "In gold of course, send it to me with the bunch that you said you were going to already send."

"Done deal," Said Rognus, "See you later, old friend."

"You as well," Said Lesur, "And I'm not old mind you."

Rognus smiled as he ran up the stairwells and through the walkways to the hall of kings. He was to meet up with the caravan to the Glittering Caves where Gimli had set up his main kingdom. He walked out of the gates, they were still open, many had volunteered, like their ancestors, they were always excited for adventure. A soldier walked up to him.

"You," Said the soldier, looking up at him, "What is your name?"

Rognus got down on one knee, to show no disrespect, as the soldier was far more experienced than him, "My name is Rognus, sir, I'm here to explore with the caravan."

The soldier went through the citizen logs. Making sure that Rognus was an actual citizen of Erebor. He was used to this reaction, many soldiers did not believe he was a citizen of Erebor due to his height and human like face, though he did share brown eyes and white skin just like the other dwarves.

The soldier looked at Rognus in the eyes, "Welcome aboard Rognus, your just in time, we are about to leave and start our journey to the glittering caves."

"Excellent" Said Rognus.

Instantly the gates of Erebor shut behind him and guards on the wall watched the caravan off, they took security very seriously in Erebor. The Caravan was around a one hundred fresh dwarves, all looking to get their start in adventuring, as well as three actual caravans all carrying the gear and supplies of the men, with some of the soldier's own gear as well. They began their week march to the glittering caves. Before they had left the soldiers had briefed the explorers on their route, we would cut straight through the forest, the forest was owned by elves and dwarves so it was considered the safest route, however, if something were to happen and we were to need to flee, we were to head to Rivendell, where safe housing was promised as well as provisions. Whenever he heard the plans for security he just thought to himself, Sauron was defeated a while ago, what's there to be afraid of?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

They were four days into their journey, over half way through the daunting forests and no danger so far other than wolves. We were passing Rivendell, it would be a days worth of travel, but if they were 'attacked' it would provide a safe haven. Rognus was assigned the watch today. Rognus was about to pass out from sleep when he heard rustling in the bushes. The rule was if they ever heard anything to report it to the expedition leader and he will decide the next course of action.

Rognus walked up to the sergeant and tapped his shoulder twice, "Um sir, there's un-identified movement to the east of our camp, I wasn't sure what to do so I followed protocol and came to you."

The sergeant rubbed his eyes "Alright, lets have a look then."

The sergeant stood up, and walked over to the caravan, pulling out an ax and a dagger. I pulled out my spear, just incase the movement WAS against us.

The sergeant looked up at me, "Where did you say the movement was ag—"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence when a warg jumped out at him bringing him to the ground. Rognus's instincts took over and he ran at the warg and slashed at him at a good distance, that's what he loved about spears, the ability to take out a beast in one sweep without ever having to get close to it. The beast lay slain after a few good slashes to the head, Rognus was about to celebrate when he heard howling out in the woods, he looked at the sergeant, he seemed to be okay.

"Sergeant," said Rognus, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," grunted the sergeant, "We have to warn the others, more are on the way, and I think those were just scouts, the next wave will have orcs."

Rognus and the sergeant ran into the camp screaming and shouting 'GET UP' and 'GET MOVING.' They weren't able to be completely ready before the Orcs came, but at least everyone was awake and they all had a chance. Out of nowhere three arrows fell from the sky, piercing two soldiers and one explorer. Rognus watched in horror as the explorer screamed and cried before falling dead. Just imagine, he may have had a family or people who cared about him, he was starting to regret his decision to join this expedition. Before he had time to continue sulking, an orc wielding only a dagger rushed at Rognus. Rognus knew a little about Orcs, he also knew that he was not trained. His best bet was to try and stun the orc first, using the butt of his spear, he wacked the orc in the face. The Orc stumbled backwards holding its nose. He shoved the spear in the Orcs gut, and kicked the orc off of his spear. As he expected, the fusing process held up in combat. He was proud of himself and internally congratulating himself when an orc with a sword jumped down in front of him. Rognus panicked and attempted to slash the Orc with his spear. The orc simply dodged the spear and kicked Rognus in the chest. He went flying backwards into a tree, he groaned in pain. The orc walked up to him, ready to finish the kill. Before the Orc could bring down his blade a flying ax met his face in full force. Rognus looked over, the sergeant had thrown an ax and saved his life.

"There," said the sergeant, "We are even, EVERYONE! Fall back! Grab your gear and retreat towards Rivendell!"

Rognus couldn't of have had said it better himself. He ran towards the caravan, grabbed his pack, and bolted in the general direction towards Rivendell. He still felt the whip of arrows surround him as he bolted for the edge of the forest. Finally, with a big leap, he stepped out onto the plains that lead to Rivendell.

Rognus screamed, "HELP! PLEASE HELP!"

Before he could off another word an arrow found its mark in his left leg. Rognus stumbled, falling on himself. He heard the elven bells, which signified danger. Rognus looked up at the sky, he knew Lesur would never forgive him for not coming back. An orc stood over him, and Rognus just closed his eyes, he didn't want to see the end. Then, he heard the screams of an orc, the slam of a body against his own, and then, he passed out.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**End**


	2. Chapter 2: The Defense of Rivendell

**A Different Adventure**

**Chapter 2: The Defense of Rivendell**

Rognus awoke in a fright, screaming and thrashing all over the place, he thought he was dead.

"Calm yourself half-blood." Said a gentle but commanding voice.

Out of fear or respect, Rognus didn't know why, but he calmed himself as the voice commanded. Rognus looked around to find who's voice commanded him to be calm, and he found his answer. Lord Elrond stood towering over his feet and the bed.

"Lord Elrond," Rognus said in a stammer, "Forgive me, I thought I was captured by the Orcs and was poisoned or tricked."

The Lord smiled, "No, one of our archers were able to take down the beast and bring you back safely, and before you ask, we brought you by horses, which was only a few minutes journey, not by foot."

"Thank you," Said Rognus, "But I must head towards the glittering caves, has the rest of my caravan shown up yet?"

The elves looked between each other, as if in a silent debate.

"What's wrong?" Said Rognus.

"Half-Blood," Said Elrond, being gentle, "You are the only survivor we have recovered."

Rognus just plopped back on the pillow, and looked at the ceiling. All those men dead? Even the sergeant? But how, Rognus sworn he had seen them escape towards Rivendell. Something must have happened to them on the way to Rivendell.

"Rognus," Rognus said, his mind still racing, "My name is Rognus."

"Well, Rognus," Elrond said, "Have no fear, we plan to send you to the glittering caves, but we cannot send troops or support with you, we have recently encountered Orc raids almost at least three times a week."

"Then how will I survive?" Said Rognus, worried for his life, "I have no training, I am just an explorer, there's nothing special about me."

"Do not worry," Said Elrond, "We will give you proper training in your weapon choices before we send you out, it is the least we can do in the ever-lasting fight against evil."

Rognus was shocked, excited, and scared, all in one feeling. He had never felt this feeling before. He was shocked that Elrond would offer such a thing, excited that he would finally get the training he has always wanted, and scared, for what lies ahead.

"When do I start?" Asked Rognus.

"Soon," Said Elrond, "For now, you need rest, you have been through a great endeavor."

Rognus couldn't agree anymore, he needed time to process everything. Once again, Rognus plopped back in his bed, this is crazy, he thought to himself. He turned over on his side and shut his eyes, sleep was one of Rognus's favorite things now, he figured he wouldn't get a lot of it in the future.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rognus was running down to the lower levels of Erebor, he didn't know where else to go. He looked for everyone, no one was anywhere, they seemed to disappear. Even Lesur had disappeared, which was odd, Lesur actually lived in his store, the store was there, but he wasn't. Rognus could feel it in his gut, something wasn't right. Suddenly his mind snapped, he figured out this was a dream, he had never been conscious in a dream before, it was weird, having the ability to test everything you've ever wanted to test in a dream. Then, a flash of black light emerged from Lesur's blacksmithing store, Rognus decided to explore this black light, it was cold, dark, and full of hate. He entered the store, black light still enveloping it. On his workbench, was a helmet from the 3rd Age of middle earth, it was spiked, made of tough iron. It wasn't Sauron's helmet, but it bared resemblance.

Rognus decided to explore the helmet. It was very well crafted, made to resemble 3rd age, Rognus thought. Then he touched the helmet, and screams of pain and death flashed in his ears. The helmet started whispering to him.

_Claim your heritage _It repeated that sentence over and over.

_Claim your heritage, claim it, NOW! _It said, and Rognus's mind was shred to bits.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rognus awoke, breathing heavy, freaking out. He hadn't screamed so no one else had woken up. He checked the elven clock in the courtyard; the shadow said it was early in the morning. The marshals would be coming to get them soon. He went ahead and got ready, armor, weapons, and his pack. He reached for his pack, but he noticed something, the pack was bulkier, as if it had an extra item. Rognus opened the pack, and then threw it on the ground immediately. The helmet was in his pack, he didn't put it there, and judging that the door was still locked; no one had put it there.

What did the helmet mean? He knew he wasn't a relative to Sauron; Sauron never had kids, his bloodline ended with him. Using cloth to cover his hands, he picked up the helmet. He figured that in order for the screams to hurt him, the helmet had to touch his flesh. He studied the helmet, a big circular piece for the mouth, two eye slots, as standard, and the rest was metal and spikes. The mouthpiece did resemble elven helmets, but more inward, and more pointed, way more pointed.

Rognus heard the marshals waking up new recruits; Rognus figured that the marshals and Elrond himself might not be too happy if they see me with a helmet from the 3rd age evil army. Rognus quickly put it in his pack for studying at a later time. Everything was secure, his spear, dagger, and his light but plentiful pack on his back.

"WAKE UP!" Yelled the marshal bursting into my room, "Oh, um, Good job rookie, report to the courtyard in 60 seconds."

"Yes sir," Said Rognus.

Rognus marched out the door, leaving the pack in his room, since today was basically simple training and seeing where we are in terms of combat. They said that tomorrow would be the tough stuff. Like Aerobic exercises and Tour and possibly a patrol with elvish knights depending on our performance. Rognus stood in line, most of the recruits walked up late and slowly, still rubbing their eyes. Rognus just smirked, he wasn't even an elf and he beat the elves to their own military training, ironic isn't it?

"Elves, and half-blood," Said the Marshal, "My name is marshal Jeryan, many of you are here today in hopes of excitement, adventure, and warfare. I'm here to tell you, that you've come to the right place, but I'm also here to tell you that its going to be near impossible to get in, so you must try your best, or you will fail utterly."

"Yes sir." Said the recruits, even Rognus said it.

The first thing they did was split off into branches, the archers, knights, scouts, and Calvary. They let Rognus choose whichever one he wanted and he decided to choose the scouts, if he was going to explore than he needed to be quick but skillful. And the training was very helpful; most scouts used longer weapons like him. They used bows or spears, sometimes daggers depending on their line of work. They were taught the simple and basic movements; Rognus had mastered the simple movements such as slash and stab. But the hard part was himself; he had to learn to not panic and to keep cool. When he lost his panic in the woods it almost cost him his life.

Another hard part was the voices. Ever since Rognus had touched the helmet in his dream he got the occasional heritage voice in his head. He almost passed out from it once but he was able to get himself balanced again. They also taught the recruits and Rognus how to use their daggers, and many of Rognus's fellow recruits wanted to see his dagger, they say they have not ever seen such a fine blade in their very long lives. The dagger techniques were very simple, Rognus was a natural at throwing the dagger, though his was heavier than most of the others.

"Alright," Said Marshal Jeyran, "Time for combat evaluation, Rognus, I'm sure you have some packing to do, so your first so we can get it over with."

Rognus just shook his head yes, he did need to pack, but he also wanted to study that helmet some more. It was very intriguing and it kept calling his name. His first combatant was a younger elf. He was using a sword as well as a smaller shield. He made the first move, swinging his sword furiously at Rognus. Rognus did what any sensible man would have done, he dodged the sword.

When an opening was available Rognus tried to get his spear in there, but the elf's shield was pure iron and it easily knocked back Rognus. Rognus decided to try one of the things he used in training. Jeyran taught him to ALWAYS sweep the leg. An opponent who can't balance can't fight. Using the butt of his weapon to avoid unintended injury he knocked the elf's right leg out from under him. Causing the elf to fall on his back. Rognus took his chance and he placed his knee on the elf's lower right arm, the arm that was holding the sword. Then, using his dwarven dagger, he pierced the elf's shield and he pierced the ground, causing the shield to be immovable. Rognus placed his spear at the elf's throat, which meant pretty much, 'game over.'

"Congratulations Rognus," Said Marshal Jeyran, "Your victory here today has been noted and you may be called upon for further tests, you may go to your living quarters now."

Rognus was relieved, he needed some alone time. He bowed towards Marshal Jeyran and returned to his temporary living quarters.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Rognus had stayed awake for almost six hours and he had no luck. There were no discernable markings, nor were there a signature, as must heroes liked to claim their gear as theirs. Last time Rognus opened himself to the helmet, terrible things happened. The sounds of men, women, and children screaming for bloody murder in his ears, his soul being ripped from his body from those voices. It felt unnatural, it felt, undead. Rognus wasn't getting any answers from the physical portion. He needed to go deeper; he needed to explore whatever dark magic this helmet contained.

Rognus sat the helmet on the seat next to him, he was certain of what he must do. Standing back up straight, he toke off his leather gloves, sitting them on the bed he was in that morning. He stares at the helmet, its dark power calling to him once again. Attempting to fill himself with courage, he reaches towards the helmet, and picked it up with his bare hands. There was something about this helmet, his blood turned cold, but a good relaxing cold, it felt good. He wanted to put on the helmet; the helmet was practically begging him to. Slowly and steadily, he put on the helmet, the minute the top of the helmet met with the crown of his head, he felt its magical power.

Images flashed through his mind, images of the recent owner of the helmet who was crushed by some unknown force. Then it flashed again, showing that he did not fall, but instead was reborn into a new host, a second chance. He could only make out one word from the noises flashing through his ears, Angmar. Suddenly it all stopped, the pain, the noises, and the images. It was all normal, he could see out of the helmet, his mouth casually breathing out of the over sized mouth hole.

But Rognus, he didn't know how, but he was changed. Instead of his hands being cold, he himself was cold. He had knowledge of almost anything magical, even the durability spell he always wanted to learn. He also learned death, fear, courage, and the after life. Realizing what the helmet was doing to him, Rognus grabbed the helmet and ripped it off his head, throwing it on the ground. He realized this helmet was more than just power or knowledge, it was also a curse, everyone knew evil still roamed these lands, but never before has an artifact of this magnitude been discovered.

Rognus, brushing the terrible thought aside, continued to think about the word Angmar. Grabbing his weapon and gear, incase there were those who did not want him to discover the truth, he marched down to the records archive to do some studying. While walking to the archives, he felt something strange, something he had never felt before, almost like, a sixth sense. He looked around, he didn't know what it was, but he knew he was being watched, and if the elves don't like you, that's a problem.

He started walking a little bit faster, the feeling wouldn't leave him. He didn't need a sixth sense now, the tension in the air was much more tense, he could tell he was being followed. He turned around quickly to try and surprise his stalker, but no one threatening was behind him, just an elvish lady with black hair walking behind him. Rognus watched her for a while; he figured it was an odd coincidence that she was there. Using his eyes she followed the lady. The lady passed by one of the recruits Rognus had seen earlier, he whistled at her. She immediately stopped, turned to the man, and slapped him on the ground, and continued on her path. Rognus couldn't help it; he put his face in his hands, and began to laugh to himself.

The recruit walked past him, he was putting pressure on the side of his cheek, the recruit had looked at him, Rognus just gave him a thumbs up and kept walking. The feeling was gone now; even his sixth sense had faded. Maybe it was the guy, or maybe it was that moment of happiness that eased his tension. That moment of happiness, good emotion, it was like glue, it kept him intact. He felt better; the shards of his soul were fixed. He had finally reached his destination, he headed downstairs into the secure vault, he told the guards that he was looking for information on Erebor from the Elf perspective, so they let him in without questioning.

He secretly ran down to the third age section of the vault about their foes. It was pretty much in alphabetical order. He figured it would be easy since Angmar starts with A. But he found nothing, nothing even closely related to Angmar. Slamming his head against the wall, he was about to give up in his search for Angmar, when a little leather book caught his eye; it was about twenty pages long and skinnier than a feather.

The book was dusty, no one had touched it in some time, it spoke of the Nazgul. He read on, the book was small, and it spoke of The Witch King of Angmar, in the portrait drawn of the man in armor, his helmet resembled that of the one Rognus had owned. But all the book spoke of was the Nazgul and its commander, this witch king. He noticed that the wringwraiths, or Nazguls, were enslaved by Sauron from their rings of power, and Sauron took control of them through the power of the ring.

Rognus began to move, he started pulling down everything related to this Witch King. He pulled down information on the rings of power, the man himself, and interrogation reports from other Orcs who were under his service, even temporarily. Rognus wasn't looking for wounds, or identifiable marks, he already knew the helmet belonged to him; he was looking for how he died, if he died, and if he had offspring. The battle reports say he was defeated by being stabbed by Eowyn, and crushed out of existence, but who says things did not happen before his death. Rognus opened up the interrogation reports, hopefully one of the Orcs squealed and dropped hints as to what he might have done. He instantly found what he was looking for in the much bigger leather covered book.

There were many reports, but Rognus was only interested in the reports from servant Orcs, they would have the answers Rognus was looking for. Rognus found them from an interrogation from the report of Vrigdush. He refused to speak until he was forced through severe liquid and fire tortures. He said, that when he was inventing his armor, he first came to the dwarves, looking for the expert touch. But when the dwarves learned their true plans, they refused to help him. So the Witch king was forced to going towards the expert but less than dwarf blacksmiths, dark elves AKA Orc Blacksmiths. Out of rage and hate, he laid a curse upon the dwarven species. A child shall be conceived of dark magic and shall bare the wretched title, of Prince of Angmar. The curse was said to take effect AFTER his downfall, so this way, his legacy would be secure, and they could not stop the curse.

Rognus was so interested, he had a feeling how this story continued, when he heard war horns sound from outside the elven walls, and the elven bells signifying danger rang once again. Rognus ran outside, he needed to leave that building before guards came to seal off that area.

"All soldiers, report to the front wall!" Marshal Jeyran yelled, staring at Rognus, "You too Half-Blood!"

Rognus shook his head yes, but he headed to his living quarters first. If they were here for what he thought they were here for, he minus well have it just in case. He ran out to the front wall, and he just stood there in silence. Thousands of Orcs, enough to rival Rivendell, approached the area in front of Rivendell, thousands waited, from warg riders to stealth Orcs. An Orc, who seemed to be the commander, stepped forward.

"City if Rivendell," Yelled the Orc, "We have come for the Prince of Angmar for his, anointment," the other orcs laughed and roared at the word anointment, "You can either surrender him peacefully or be cut down!"

"Rognus," Said marshal Jeryan, "Get on the ballista, prepare to fire when lord Elrond gives the word."

"On it." Said Rognus, running towards the Ballista.

The ballista was a quick load system, it could be fires quickly by two people, or fired slowly by only one. His loader today was the recruit he had beat up.

"Half-Blood." Said the elf, greeting Rognus with a nod.

"Elf." Said Rognus, returning the gesture.

The arrow was quickly loaded and prepped to fire. Rognus gave a thumbs up to Jeryan, who returned the gesture. Rognus looked around, his dark blue hood flapping in the wind. The other Ballista's had prepped and done the same. Lord Elrond stepped forward, speaking with the Orc commander.

"The prince of Angmar," Said Elrond, "Is only a myth and nothing more, you will not find such a person here!"

"Lord Elrond," Said the green tall Orc, spreading out his hands, "I know you are hiding more than you are admitting, I know that you know you harbor the Prince of Angmar."

Lord Elrond looked side to side, trying to cover up his lies, "Even if such a man existed you would not find him here, leave now and we will let you live in peace, for now."

"So it begins," Said the commander, "CHARGE!" He yelled, forcing his army into battle.

"FIRE!" Yelled out Lord Elrond.

Rognus and the other ballista shooters did as commanded. The majority of the first wave survived the initial Ballista assault, and they kept coming. I was about to yell reload when a stealth Orc dropped down from the mountain side onto his reloader, crushing him and stabbing him before noticing Rognus. Rognus took the butt of his spear, whacking him in the head then chest, causing the Orc to stumble and fall off of the front wall.

"ORCS ABOVE!" Yelled Rognus, attempting to warn the rest of Rivendell.

He swatted off as many as he could, attempting to hold his ground. Left, right, above even, he knocked down and slayed many Orcs. He was congratulating himself on the inside for his performance, when a Goblin with a mace hopped down and knocked his spear out of his hand and onto the bridge leading into the gate. Rognus, drawing out his dwarven knife, stabbed the Goblin as the beast pounced on Rognus, making Rognus lose his balance. Rognus fell, flat on his back, groaning in pain, as the fall was not a pleasant one.

He looked around and realized where he had landed. The main bridge, and right besides his spear. He grabbed his spear in one hand and knife in the other, preparing to be swarmed by Orcs and Goblins alike. Just as he thought, a pack of Orcs and Goblins ran up to confront him. Rognus, expecting the end, braced himself for impact against the front gate. When, to Rognus's luck, a hail of Elven arrows fell from the front gate and upon the hunters sent to Rognus.

"CLIMB ON HALF-BLOOD!" Yelled Lord Elrond, blade in his right hand and an outreached helping hand in his other.

Rognus hurried, standing idly at the front gates during a raid was very dangerous, and often lead to death. He felt light, something was missing, and he could feel it. He looked down, and noticed his pouch he had made to hold the helmet of Angmar was missing. He looked towards the battle, and saw the woolen pouch rolling down the bridge and into the fields of battle, he couldn't leave it behind. He ran into the field of battle, dark blue hood flapping in the wind from both, Rognus's speed, and from the arrows constantly zooming by him.

He picked up the pouch, and when he turned around, he saw the devastating truth. The defenses of Rivendell were failing, and this was only the second wave of Orcs, the elves, though proficient in archery, would not be able to hold the front long in a clash of steel against mindless destroying creatures. He figured, if this was really the witch-king of Angmar's helmet, and it did really possess power, then there was only one choice. He took the helmet out of the pouch, and instantly he received the whispers of power that were being promised.

"Half-Blood!" Yelled Elrond, "Drop that evil thing and come back here!"

Rognus couldn't, the faith of an entire city was in his hands. He just stared at the helmet for a minute. In that minute, he noticed that the battlefield, except for Elrond, constantly screaming at him, was completely quiet. He put the helmet over his head, and right when he was about to put it on, he felt the sting of an arrow pierce his shoulder. He let out a short gasp of pain and turned to see who had shot him. It was a lady, in reddish leather armor and dark green hood with a mask to cover her face, she seemed oddly familiar. He figured out what they were trying to do, and he immediately put on the helmet. Knowledge flowed through him, power was in his blood, it was a feeling he had never felt before, and it was wonderful.

He turned to the Orc and Goblin army, his eyes glowing pure blood red, "ORC AND GOBLIN ARMY, I AM THE PRINCE OF ANGMAR!" He yelled, lifting his spear, "YOU! SHALL! NOT! PASS!"

He banged his spear bottom on the ground, an electrical shockwave busted through the ground, utterly destroying any it came in contact with, the Orcs and Goblins burned to a crisp, and they all fell before him, either dying of their wounds, or burnt to a crisp. He turned to the elf army, ripping off the helmet, the archer and Elrond looked at him quizzically.

"Do not look for me." Rognus said.

He knew they wouldn't listen, but he had to try to warn them. He whistled, and his horse burst through the elven gates and to his side, he put the helmet back into the leather side pouch he had created and hopped on his horse he could hear Elrond screaming.

"HUNT HIM DOWN!" He yelled, "DO NOT LET THE PRINCE OF ANGMAR ESCAPE TO GLITTERING CAVES!"

So Rognus rode rode and rode. All he could and with all his might, he figured that at best he would have an hour or two head start from the main force, and probably thirty-minutes ahead of the hunters. He realized now he was FAR more special than he once thought he was. Not special, like with issues, but meant for great purpose, or was that the helmet talking? Either way, something was about to change in Middle-Earth, and he couldn't do it alone.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**End**


End file.
